Barnes & Noble sets up German arm: European Nook incoming?

While Europeans certainly don’t have any trouble getting their hands on ereaders, Barnes & Noble’s Nook has been confined to the United States during its tenure. That may be set to change, as Barnes & Noble has established a new company in Germany, Barnes & Noble Digital Media GmbH. The company was filed two weeks ago, around the same time that Barnes & Noble paid a visit to London to try and get developers on board with the Nook.

The German company will be based in Berlin, with Eugene DeFelice acting as vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. The move certainly makes sense: if Barnes & Noble hope to gain more ground in the ereader market with the Nook, then it needs to expand into international territories. Currently the Nook holds around 3.5% of the market.

European developers who were pitched the idea of developing for the Nook came away believing that Barnes & Noble didn’t have a plan fully in place. Developers would have been required to have U.S bank accounts, with all payments being in U.S Dollars. Barnes & Noble wouldn’t confirm that the event was a build up to a European launch, also saying that the company had no plans to launch stores on that side of the world.

Previous rumors have indicated that Barnes & Noble could look to Waterstones to launch the Nook in the U.K. There are several strong retailers in Germany who would also help facilitate the tablets launch in that country, including Thalia and DBH.